New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney receives death threats over gun control support

New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has received death threats at her Manhattan office because of her support for the United States’ new gun legislation.

The threats, three phone calls, came to her Upper East Side office an hour apart. The Congresswoman was forced to skip an awards dinner for the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts after the threats called on her to stop moving forward with the legislation.

Last week Maloney introduced a bill that would require weapons owners to hold liability insurance.

Shaken by the experience Maloney told the New York Daily News: “They said they were going to kill me.

Disappointed that she had to skip the awards she said “I couldn’t go. Who knows what could happen?

“I think any member of Congress would be scared after what happened to my good friend Gabby Giffords...You have to take these things seriously.”

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a former Democratic representative for Arizona, was shot in the head at point-blank range. She has made a miraculous recovery and together Giffords and her former-astronaut husband Mark Kelly are also campaigning for new gun control laws.

On Tuesday night the New York Police Department confirmed that they are investigating the threats against Maloney. The Congresswoman said the police are checking if these calls can be traced. They are also reviewing the security in her office.

Maloney said “It’s not unusual to have calls saying they don’t like the bill. You get calls in support and opposition but...this is unsettling.”

Despite the threats she is moving forward with the bill that she calls “common sense”.

The legislation will require gun owners to hold insurance similar that which car owners hold. She pointed out “A gun is more dangerous than a car.”

Under the Firearms Risk Protection Act, anyone purchasing a firearm after the effective date of the bill, who fails to purchase the proper liability insurance would be subject to a fine of up to $10,000.

On proposing the bill Maloney said “For too long, gun victims and society at large have borne the brunt of the costs of gun violence. My bill would change that by shifting some of that cost back onto those who own the weapons.”

“We have a long history of requiring insurance for high-risk products — and no one disputes that guns are dangerous.”

“While many individual states are debating this issue now, it makes more sense for Congress to establish a national requirement to allow the insurance markets to begin to price the risks involved consistently nationwide.”